Move Comes After Strong International Criticism of Piracy Charges and After Putin Remarks

MOSCOW—Russian authorities scrapped piracy charges against a group of Greenpeace activists who tried to scale a Barents Sea oil rig and instead charged them with hooliganism, a crime that carries a punishment of up to seven years in prison.

The move came after strong international criticism over the piracy charge that carried a punishment of up to 15 years in jail. It also followed Russian President Vladimir Putin's remarks that the...